Tag Archives: Uncategorized

What’s Next?

Posted on April 27, 2016 by OscarBen

Wow. In these last few months, we have gone over the entire cosmic calendar. The last topic of the class, life elsewhere in the universe, covered stuff that hasn’t even happened on this calendar yet. In this class, I really believe I’ve learned a lot of material, rather than memorizing a lot. Studying for this upcoming… More What’s Next? Continue reading →

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Tardigrade: The Winter Soldier

Posted on April 27, 2016 by nickwtheastronomer

Earth’s most resilient organism has once again astounded the scientific community. Tardigrades, also referred to as “waterbears”, have successfully demonstrated the ability to survive deep freezing for decades. In November of 1983 a Japanese research team harvested moss while on an anarctic expedition, contained within this harsh environment (as with many other equally harsh areas) […] Continue reading →

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A ~Record~ of Life on Earth

Posted on April 27, 2016 by Gabi Grys

Before sending the Voyager spacecraft off into space in 1977, Carl Sagan and his team insisted on including a “bottle” to send off into the “cosmic ocean.” This message to potential intelligent life in the universe is contained in the Voyager record, a 12 inch golden record meant to encapsulate life on Earth. The record […] Continue reading →

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The Fermi Paradox

Posted on April 27, 2016 by evinske

To be, or not to be? Is that really the question? According to the Fermi Paradox, it’s a perfectly valid one. The Fermi Paradox, coined after Enrico Fermi, is a theory that addresses life elsewhere in the universe as a probable reality. The only issue is, however, that no other forms of life (that we […] Continue reading →

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How Astronomical Are Our Chances of Finding Extraterrestrial Life?

Posted on April 27, 2016 by harperastronomyblog

I’ve always thought that we weren’t alone in the world–and my Astronomy class has really helped to confirm my thoughts. After studying the Drake Equation, it seems almost certain that intelligent life and life that could eventually communicate with us must exist. After all, the Earth is only 4.6 billion years old–a baby compared to […] Continue reading →

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SETI – The “Wow!” Signal Today

Posted on April 27, 2016 by solarsystemjoe

Although SETI institute was founded in 1984, the search for extraterrestrial life concerned scientists for many years prior.  In 1977, Ohio State’s Big Ear radio telescope heard exactly what it had been searching for: the “Wow!” signal.  The radio telescope was attempting to detect radio waves around the three-star system, Chi Sagittarii, when it detected radio […] Continue reading →

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A Semester Reflection

Posted on April 26, 2016 by lindseynestor

Taking astronomy this semester has been awesome. I’ve always loved space but had never previously had the chance to learn about it in a formal setting. It’s unfeasible for us humans to have a real understanding of the size of the universe – numbers like “billions of light-years” are impossible fully grasp when the only […] Continue reading →

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God the Engineer of Life?

Posted on April 23, 2016 by jacquessolar

In Lawrence M. Krauss’s piece in the New Yorker, No, Astrobiology Has Not Made the Case for God, he responds to an article entitled Science Increasingly Makes the Case for God published in the Wall Street Journal by Eric Metaxas. In Metaxas’ piece, he writes about how miraculous and statistically infinitesimal the likelihood that life […] Continue reading →

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Living the fast life: Kepler-70b

Posted on April 12, 2016 by d51blog

The Kepler spacecraft (which was feared lost earlier this week) has discovered a veritable treasure trove of exoplanets over its seven year mission. Some of these planets may even be habitable. Kepler-70b is decidedly not one of them. Kepler-70b is the closer of two terrestrial planets to KOI-55, a subdwarf star which was once a red giant. […] Continue reading →

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Are We Overdue for a Mass Extinction?

Posted on April 10, 2016 by mattsastronomyblog

People have argued about if and when the human race will die out on earth.  We have essentially taken ourselves out of the food chain, meaning that we won’t be hunted to extinction.  We have also made great strides in medicine making it unlikely that we will die out from disease.  It may seem improbable […] Continue reading →

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